Walls: Mounting LCD TV and shelf ...

MuffinsDa

Hi All the DIY types there.
Does any body know what types are the walls in 2-bed mid-terrace house (both internal and external ones)?
I've got an LCD tv that I want to mount on the wall but am not sure which way is best and what kind of walls we have!
I have bought a rather big shelf in Habitat a while ago and wanted to put it up recently but it says not suitable for plasterboard walls (it's quite heavy). I am wondering if it'll be possible to fix something heavy by fixing it to some of the studs (do we have studs in these walls? I have a detector but can't trust it!!) and the rest of heavy-duty wall-plugs?

Any help would be appreciated!

mikedragon32

Astrofluff is probably your best bet for advice on this one, but I have seen a number of houses with Plasma/LCD tvs mounted on walls*, so I can only assume unless it's some 56" monster that you'll be able to do it.



*Well if you don't close your curtains/blinds that's your own problem!!!!

MuffinsDa

thanks mike.
Hope astrfluff could shed some fluff on this soon, that'll be great

gstonesmx5

you should be able to hang it off the studs or by using number of mounting points with the weight spread evenly over an arched line.

i would like to point out i am not a plasterboard god so good luck with it.

MuffinsDa

thanks gstonemx...
my main question is what kind of plasterboard walls do we have in charlesland? is there vertical studs in them?
Also, arched upwards? or downards? i.e. like
. . .
. .
. .

or

. .
. .
. . .

?

mikedragon32

MuffinsDa,

You should take a look at the bracket for mounting the TV. Usually they have four or six points for attaching screws, which probably wouldn't assist in mounting the TV in an arched pattern.

Charlie-Bravo

Yeah plasterboard...not exactly the bestest thingy to be fixing to but..

I installed a mirror with integrated lights in the bathroom. Had to do some electrical work for it too. This mirror unit was heavy enough and I put four big holes (approx 12mm diameter) in the plasterboard for the fixing points. I got some anchors from Woodies, the type that have a bolt and a folding wedge which flips out behind the plasterboard. They are tricky to use as you have to put the whole thing together, slip the wedges through the plasterboard and then tighten everything.

There is the usual disclaimer for proceeding with this method! I shall not be responsible for damage, fire or any other defects caused.

MuffinsDa

Mike: Yep I've got a bracket for it but wanted to know if I should mount it with heavy-duty anchors (like astro said) or will need something more elaboate (i.e. finding studs etc...) That's for the advice!

Astrofluff: Thanks. How heavy was your mirror, roughly?

Charlie-Bravo

Jaysus...It was ages ago when I installed it. Probably around 6-8 kgs (a stone in weight or so). What's the net weight of your TV?

MuffinsDa

astrofluff wrote:

What's the net weight of your TV?

Just over 10 kg. The bracket is fairly small though, around 200x100 mm so it doesn't distribute the wait too well. Was thinking of possibilty of sticking a boards to the studs and then mounting the mounting bracket on that... But don't know if it's overkill, maybe heavy duty plugs will do.

mikedragon32

Personally, I wouldn't say it's overkill, but I'm no DIY genius.

I just think the more secure it is, the less risk you run of destroying a very expensive tv!